A crazed Iowa dad who murdered six relatives was heard shouting about death and money just 10 minutes before he turned the gun on himself.
Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, was spotted around noon Monday outside his home in Muscatine, where four of his relatives were found shot dead — before two others were found dead at two separate locations.
“I heard him walk by my house, saying, ‘Don’t worry about money. Everything goes away when you die,’” neighbor Melissa Weggen told the Quad-City Times of McFarland, whom she thought of as a “decent guy” who would lovingly hold hands with his wife on walks.
“It’s not unusual for people to be yelling on this street.”
Weggen estimated that “about 10 minutes” later a huge wave of emergency responders arrived at the house, which property records show was the killer dad’s main residence for more than 20 years.
“I was watching from my porch,” Weggen said of the dramatic scenes as officers yelled through loudspeakers, “telling someone inside to come out with their hands up.”
Four bodies were found inside McFarland’s home — but he had bolted before police arrived.
He was found on a nearby riverview trail — where he shot himself dead while talking to officers, according to police, who called the killing spree an “act of evil.”
Police realized there might be additional victims, and found a man inside a home two miles from where the four bodies were discovered.
A second man was found shot dead inside Willits Metalworks.
However, cops said it appears the “shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute”. At this time,” — and “all victims are believed to be family members of the deceased suspect.”
The victims have not been identified — but two were confirmed to be Muscatine Community School District students, and two were school staffers.
Weggen’s daughter Sarah Ziegenhorn, who graduated school alongside McFarland’s daughter, said she reached out to her after cops swooped on the home in the city, which has a population of around 23,500.
“I have not heard back from her,” the 20-year-old said.
“[She] was really sweet, liked everyone, thought about everyone … she just had a big heart.”
Weggen considered McFarland a “decent guy” who regularly went on walks with his wife in the neighborhood, including with their kids as well as their pet pugs.
“They were always holding hands and they’d have their youngest child with them.”
Austin Loughead, another neighbor, said McFarland was always smiling whenever he encountered him.
Their last encounter was Sunday when Loughead was teaching his son how to ride a bike.
“He said from a distance, ‘He’s doing really good. I’m really proud of him.’ About my son riding his bike,” Loughead said, recalling the conversation.